


It's a Doggy Dog World

by scarytinyturtlebutt



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 12:25:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16576445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarytinyturtlebutt/pseuds/scarytinyturtlebutt
Summary: This is a repost of a fic I previously had up. I got out of the fandom for awhile due to personal reasons, and didn't delete the ao3 salvation slip of here is your work backed up. No, it's not re-edited, and it might look weird due to end notes being scattered throughout.I needed something wholesome with a lot of cool dogs. Small gaster blasters are basically weird dogs, but they're cool. *title is a misnomer of a dog-eat-dog world. I heard it and thought it was adorable. Bitties are canonly science-made here. There are no big monsters. Just a whole lot of small science ones. More or less, this is going to be good times with good dogs that are like the size of juvenile house cats-small pomeranians.





	It's a Doggy Dog World

  
Notes:

Starting off with Russ and Black. All the dogs are going to get nicknamed by the Reader! so they'll all be something hopefully easy to remember. These two are going to be Puppy (Russ) and Prince (Black).

  
  
Chapter 1: Puppy and Prince  
End Notes:

Please like/comment if you enjoyed this and want to see more.

  
  


It'd been a few decades since bitties had first been introduced into the pet trade. It had been a realization of hypoallergenic pets without resorting to robotics. It was a wild jump in genetics where a close group of friends had gone rogue scientist and tried for homemade dinosaurs, succeeded, and went for full out mini-monsters. 

Bitties' intelligence was really all over the place, from literal mold-slime, to something up to pace with parrots with the potential of better english skills in a few of them. 

Of course, with how good humans were at abandoning animals in general, it wasn't terribly long before bitties were introduced into multiple ecosystems and just kinda went wild. It might have been somewhat sad, but even wild monsters were pretty adept at asking humans for help if they got tangled in garbage or lost a kid in a drain. 

It was really just like pigeons. The majority of them were descended from pets and you could still see the variations of more recent lines in them from newer, fancier, ones that'd run away or been released more recently.

________________________________________________

 

Harris hawks were cool because they hunted cooperatively. It was usually one lady with a bunch of beta guys.

Their talons were their main weapons and they couldn't take a full grown rabbit down on their own. But together they could hunt and share. The best thing about these awesome birds, was that because there was so few perches in a desert landscape, they'll stack up and stand on top of each other when one's found a good place to sit. There weren't a whole lot of birds that hunted cooperatively and they were basically sky-velociraptors. 

You spotted a group in mid-hunt early in the morning and pulled your car over to take some pictures. You ended up intervening and shooing the birds with an open umbrella when you realized their intended prey was a monster. They'd be angry for your interference, but a mouthful of dust wasn't going to do them any good. 

It was like a little skeleton puppy. It was definitely shedding some dust and was panting to catch its breath, but it forced itself to its feet and stood its ground like it was ready to fight you too.

Oh man, those birds looked like they'd gone for the back of its neck and down its spine.

"Oh heck kid, you're in rough shape." 

They gave a harsh growl, a small bit of foamy-orange, non-Newtonian fluid that monsters ran on, leaking out of their teeth. The colour was supposed to mean something when bitty monsters were first made, kinda like how furbies were rumored to have different personalities between looks, but that was proven to not be super accurate and you hadn't taken the time to learn that junk anyway.

You didn't have gloves on you and you didn't have anything to catch them with to keep them from hurting you or themselves in a struggle. 

This might have to go down like the two lesbians taking a vulture with a broken wing bare-handed into a vet's office. 

You set the umbrella down so it'd shelter them, and sat down in the sand.

Monsters could be anywhere on the spectrum for understanding from literal slime mold, to pretty smart- doing almost comparatively as well as some monkeys on puzzles and tests. All you could do was hope this skeleton was on the smarter side and could be calmed down. They were probably going to go into shock once the adrenaline, or whatever equivalent it had, wore off.

You introduced yourself and told them about the hawks they were attacked by. About their habits and conservation. They were smart birds, if they knew this skeleton was a monster, they'd probably have left them alone. 

You offered a hand to them when their tail started drooping. 

"Can I lend a hand? I could get you patched up back at my place." 

It took a moment for them to decide, but they lowered their head and took a half-step to you. Didn't look like they had much oomph left in them. They still took a long moment to check your hand out for any threatening smells before bumping it. The fight visibly went out of them, just watching fairly mildly for being injured and you a stranger.

You picked them up carefully. Trying not to touch the mess of its spine. You wouldn't be able to take full stock of the damage until you got them cleaned up.

"You did good kiddo, we'll get ya cleaned up." You reassured, and they slumped in your arms. 

They were only about the size of a juvenile cat. Poor thing.

You kept them in one arm close to your chest to avoid setting them down while you drove. It was a thirty minute drive, you'd been out headed to town early for groceries and it was not anything but luck that had you find them. 

They hung in there, seeming to doze despite their injuries. 

As soon as you parked, they were awake and looking up at you and at their surroundings. 

Your house was an old rancher, and you unlocked the door one handed and brought them in without ceremony. Went right to the bathroom to grab a towel, and headed back to the kitchen to the bigger sink. 

Turned on the hot water first thing so it'd warm up, put the towel down in the bottom of the sink so they wouldn't slide around.

They didn't react badly to the sink, and let you set them down in it after getting the temperature right without a fight or fuss. They laid complacently on the towel while you dug under the sink and got out a med kit. It was easier to have things all together and on hand when you didn't live too close to town. 

You used the sprayer on a low setting to rinse off some of the dust and sand off of them before pouring some surgical scrub out on a sterile cloth. 

They growled at the blue liquid. 

"It's safe kid. It's just gonna help make sure nothing gets infected." You used your other hand to pet their skull and they almost flinched in shock, letting out a long low whine. You took your hand away when they didn't relax into the gesture, and they reached their neck over to follow it and continue getting pets. 

You turned your hand palm up and they rested their head there while you wiped down the injuries. Mostly just scratches, some of it seemed suspiciously off-coloured like the bone was bruising. On one side of their spine were two shallow punctures. Even with a non-stinging surgical scrub, they still flinched when you had to clean those out. 

Gave them another light rinse off, washed your hands, and grabbed a dry kitchen towel to pick them up with. 

A quick pat down, and you were able to get the worse of what they had bandaged so it'd stay clean. 

They just sagged into your hold when you picked them up to relocate them to the couch. 

You really wanted to get them some food and water. Didn't exactly know what a skeleton would or even could eat. Mainstream commercials and basic info usually pointed towards monsters being able to eat nearly anything edible, and that they were a very low-effort pet in that respect.

But that was probably also from pet stores who wanted to sell betas as a 'keep in a tiny fishbowl' when they were tropical and needed a decent sized tank with a heater.

You had gas instead of electric, and it was probably a bad idea to hold them while you cooked.

You settled them on the couch and pulled the couch throw over them. They set their head down and just watched you. 

Well, they were high enough on the smarts spectrum to be talked down, might as well see what else you could get across? 

"You did good kiddo. Can you eat scrambled eggs? One sound for yes, two for no?" 

They watched you for a good minute. Made no move to raise their head.

"bhh." 

It was like they were trying to boof but were too small. It was a really quiet sound like their throat was dry... 

"Cool. You chill here for now. I'll be back." 

You left the mess in the sink alone for now. 

Scrambled eggs were fast at least. You cracked three eggs and whisked them with a little milk and a fork. A pinch of salt just in case electrolytes were a thing with monsters, but no pepper in case of allergies. Or just to keep it simple. 

No sounds came from the livingroom while you cooked. Monsters could be really different from regular wild animals. But with the trauma from surviving a hawk attack, maybe their silence was understandable. 

You came back with a bowl of water and the bowl of eggs with a spoon. 

You offered the water first, and they sniffed it for a few minutes warily before just shoving their face into it. No slurping sounds or anything. They drained almost the entire bowl down to the dregs. 

Tried to do the same thing to the eggs. Sniffed them, then went for it. Their jaw must have been bruised from the fight, and they couldn't chew that well. You ended up using the spoon to break up and serve them smaller pieces they could just straight swallow. 

You thought they'd be out like a light. Instead they were shifting like they wanted the blanket off. You pulled it off them before they could hurt themselves struggling. They looked at the floor like they'd jump down, and then looked at you.

"You need to explore?" You picked them up and set them carefully on the floor. 

They headed to the front door, and scritched at it. 

You frowned, and picked them up. 

"You just point where you want to go. Better to keep your bandages clean." You headed back outside, and they were looking very pointedly at your jeep. You kept them in the crook of your arm, and got behind the wheel with a sigh. "Guess you have a home then. We'll get ya back." You drove them back out to where the hawks had been. 

They were relaxed into your arm the whole way. 

You didn't know how something this chill would last outside. Maybe it was like how animals in the city would go to humans sometimes if they needed to get trash off them or if they needed a kid freed from something. Being okay with being helped by humans could be advantageous to some monsters. 

You found the exact patch of dirt with the scuff and the remains of marrow and monster gel from the fight. 

The skeleton huffed at the scene, and you pet part of its skull with a thumb. 

"Which way, buttercup?" It was a bright, cloudless day. Not much cover for a monster from the local menagerie. 

They raised their head and let out a high pitched sound. Kinda like a fox scream. Not a good sound, but it carried. 

An answering fox scream came from one of the desert monoliths. 

"Cool, I guess I'll drop you off over there." It was a beautiful day. Autumn was creeping in and cooling off the worst of the high desert heat. The familiar crunch of stone and sand under your boots and the sun on your back were familiar comforts. Air was fresh and slightly dusty from the wind messing with the sand and dirt. 

The skeleton in the crook of your arm gave another call when you were halfway there, got another call back.

It was instantly cooler when you stepped into the shade of one of the stone monoliths. The sandstone's strata echoing old years past were lovely as always. You sat down in the dirt with your back to the stone.

"You stay safe. Keep your bandages clean." You gave the skeleton enough rein to step off your arm themself. 

They didn't headbutt your hands or anything. Little bone feet moving quietly on the dirt.

Sometimes all you could do was intervene for one day. You chilled out and stared up at the sky. 

You leaned back in surprise when the bandaged skeleton crawled back into your lap like a tired cat a few minutes later.

Another similar dog skeleton was watching you. They were standing wary, full ready to fight.

One of their front legs looked like it had a hairline fracture that had gotten infected. The purple-ish crack was visible even a good few feet away.

You turned your gaze back to the sky.

The other skeleton was the same almost-cat or puppy the other was, just a little shorter and more compact. One eyesocket had scarring over it, looked old.

After a full inspection with them walking around you and sniff-bumping, they poked your hand very pointedly to get your attention. 

"Hey, you having a good day?" You asked. 

The second one didn't move in for cuddles, instead moving to your side and sitting down to just be companionable. 

You checked your phone after awhile. You did still need to go to town today.

"I gotta head out. Is it okay to check in with you later?" You wanted to get to know your neighbors. Monsters weren't common in your area, they were generally known for being city-wildlife, and those puncture wounds needed looking after. 

The one in your lap had a very painful looking movement to get back on your arm from their place on your lap. They curled up and settled in. 

The other was standing up, still looking at you. 

"Did you two want to come with me?" 

"boff." The one on your arm answered. 

You considered it. It would be easier to rehabilitate them if they weren't all the way out here.

"Alrighty then. Let's go home." You offered an arm to the second one, and they backed off, tail stiff and wary. You stood up, and they were right by your heels. The other followed all the way to your jeep, and didn't need help jumping up to the floorboard and then on the seat despite that leg injury. 

It was a pretty quiet drive back. 

You kept the first one in the crook of your arm until you got them back in the kitchen to wipe the dirt off their feet, and then you got them settled back on the couch. 

The second, even though it had opted for walking, made zero indication they'd bite or were unfamiliar with water when you set them in the sink and rinsed them off. They were tense when you washed their injured leg and wrapped it, no move to bite you or warning that they were thinking about it. They really just stood there and chilled out for the bath and care. 

More scrambled eggs and water later, the two of them were curled up together under a blanket on the couch. 

You made short work of cleaning up the kitchen. It was running late and you'd get the towels washed when you got home.

____________________________________

 

Bitties were supposed to have some pretty big personalities compared to their tiny forms, but the two you'd brought home were basically as sassy as huskies. 

You'd named the less injured one, Prince, since not only was he talking ALL the time, but he seemed like he was trying to boss you around. Really, it was the funniest, sassiest, husky-talk. He argued about you turning lights out for bedtime, loudly complained just like a husky about you not waking up at the slightest hint of light outside before dawn, and generally trying to throw his tiny weight around. 

The other skeleton you named Puppy, since he was pretty much all about cuddling. You figured it was mostly just his way of being near you so he didn't have to jump on or off furniture, leeching off heat like a sick house-cat who didn't want to chase the sunspots on the floor throughout the day. He was 100% about being petted at all times and would huff sadly if you stopped, but would accept it and ignore you back. 

Skeletons or no, they were very husky like. Prince did a pretty admirable husky-curl to keep warm. 

You'd taken them to a vet, and basically nothing could be done for their specific injuries beyond keeping them clean and getting lots of rest. Got some painkillers for Puppy and new bandages, and honestly it was not the worst vet visit. The bitties were wary and stiff, didn't whine or bite, and let themselves be looked over. 

After a little more than a month, both skeletons were doing surprisingly better. The puncture wounds had filled in, and the cracks had sealed up nicely. Hawk-attacked Puppy was getting up and down furniture by himself, and using this newfound abilities to takeover the pillows on your bed when you weren't sleeping. 

In two months the two bitties had gotten settled in like even if you hadn't adopted them, they'd definitely adopted you. They were pretty cute, and any allergies or sensitivities of dog hair or dander wasn't a thing since they were bitties and skeletons, like double hypoallergenic. 

They were good dogs, and you were completely down for having some good dogs.

  
  
Chapter 2: new experiences  
End Notes:

Hmm, wonder why the bitties wouldn't be comfortable being taken out to a wild area to go for a walk. A lot of dogs get nervous on their first few hikes, but they were found out in a pretty remote area.

Check out those crazy cool abandonment issues. They're good dogs found in a pretty remote area.

  
  


You had ordered one of those dog carriers that looked like a bag with a handful of toys you thought the dogs might like, and your bitties were both staring at the box you'd brought in like it might be hiding a trap. 

"Whatdya think, buddy?" You asked Prince, since he was being the nosiest about the box and getting under foot. You got a knife out to open the box up, and the skeleton took the time to use your thigh as a platform to stand on while you cut the tape. 

Vaccum-sealed dog toys gave soft jingle when you pulled them out. 

Puppy was interested, head perking up at the sound, but still not willing to give up his spot in the blanket nest on the couch to look closer. 

You got a tiny plush raccoon out, and offered it to Prince. He took it, and set it down on the floor, and came back for another toy. A tube of small tennis balls were turned out onto the floor. 

Couple other plushies, the lined dog-holding bag, and the last toy you left in the box specifically because you had a joke for it. 

"Hey Prince, Prince. This last one's really important." You tried to make yourself have a slightly more serious voice, but it didn't super work cause you were smiling too hard. "I've had a joke stuck in my head for days but I haven't had a good time to tell it. Wanna hear it?" 

"Ruuuuuuu." Prince sounded a lot like he was saying no. 

"Your bones are only weak when you ignore one of your brothers." 

Both skeletons got a small head-tilt. Clearly it made no sense. Gave each other a look like, they only had the other one.

"BRO-tassium." You pulled out the plushie banana, and Prince refused to take it. "Bad joke? Think I'm bananas?" You gave the plush a teasing shake so the movement might make it look more interesting. 

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUuu." Prince complained, and flopped to the floor like you'd killed him. 

That was- you were just telling them the joke cause you hadn't found a good outlet for telling it, but they were actually acting like they got it. You'd given them cut up bananas as snacks a few times, and they didn't react to it badly. 

"Sure you don't want the plush? It's a cute one. Not ap-peeling to play with it?" 

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU." Prince complained instantly, pushing on your leg with his paws, and the tail started wagging despite the obvious protest. 

Puppy got down off the couch and stretched out like he wanted the toy. Took it suuuuper gently when you offered it. 

"You dork." You gave Puppy a pat. 

The carrier bag was just a fake purse designed so a small dog could comfortably lay in it and get zipped up so only their head stuck out. You picked Puppy up and set him in it, and the dog huffed at it, but wasn't going to stop trying to nap even being moved. Once you zipped it up, that chill went away. When he couldn't move out by himself since not letting the dog jump out of the bag while you were walking was safer, he started biting the bag anywhere he could reach.

He leapt out as soon as you unzipped it, going to duck behind the couch. Almost impressive how much he didn't like it considering how often you carried this dog. But maybe it smelled weird or something. Maybe he didn't like zipper sounds.

_________________________________________________________

Harness training went pretty well. It took Puppy some time to remember he could still walk when he had one on. Prince wanted to eat Puppy's harness, but stopped trying to chew on it once you proved it wasn't an all-day thing and there were cookies involved with both putting them on and taking them off. 

Once you were fairly confident with them being okay with the harnesses, you decided you wanted to try and take the dogs hiking. What you really wanted was to go camping. Lots of fresh air, not quite time for a lot of bugs yet, and lots of time to hang out in nature with a higher amount of outdoor time compared to the driving time. 

"Are you guys excited?" You had both the skeleton dogs in the back of the jeep so they weren't hopping on your lap or getting near the pedals while you drove. "Gonna go for a good drive, good hike, and see how you guys do on a trail." 

Both dogs had their harnesses on and were glued to the windows the whole way, not responding much to you when you talked to them, very stiff body language.

You'd hit the road when it was still super early and arrived at a cozy series of mountain trails before nine. 

"We're heeere." There were a couple other cars parked around the dirt parkinglot. "Oh cool, we might see some other hikers. Early birds are usually pretty positive people." You'd have to watch out in case anyone had their dogs off leash. 

Puppy wouldn't get out of the car by himself and wouldn't walk when you helped him out. 

It wasn't too bad, so you settled him in one arm to carry him while Prince kept close to your heels. Maybe they weren't feeling too happy with the new area. 

It was a bright, clear day. Despite the dogs' waryness, they weren't whining or vocalizing about it. It was a short three mile hike, and it was a looped trail so you didn't have to double back. 

While Prince didn't stick this close to you when you took them to a pet-friendly store or around the neighborhood, you really couldn't see anything wrong with it. You hadn't been out on this trail this year, and you were seeing a whole lot of poison ivy off the sides. 

Took a seat at one of the benches halfway to chill out for a bit and catch your breath. Offered the dogs water from your pack, and even with the air being fairly dry, they weren't going for it. Took a moment to check all of Puppy's little bone feet just in case he had a crack or pebble stuck somewhere. Nothing. 

Puppy still wouldn't walk when you tried setting him down again, so you picked him back up and headed out. Prince still glued to you. 

Got back to the jeep after a few hours. You had really been taking your time and hoping your calmness would transfer to the dogs. Offered them water again before you headed out, and both of them ignored it again. 

They both visibly perked up once things started looking more familiar out the windows. The two of them jumped out of the jeep by themselves when you opened the door at the house. 

Once the harnesses were off you let them go do their own thing, and they zoomed around the yard. Puppy was _zooming_ around and he was never a big zoomer. Took a good few hours and they were both zooming on and off with water breaks and food breaks. 

Both dogs were overly excited for the next few days. Tearing around the house like they were just having the best time. 

Puppy flopped onto the couch after a few days of hard play, and Prince could not get him up to keep up the energy.

They were super cute, and the huge difference in energy was enough that you were starting to consider it maybe being a good idea to start looking around for another dog. If you could get one with more a middle energy level, they'd be able to play with Prince so he wasn't stuck being the only one still wound up and needing to zoom. 

The still-energized Prince went from the couch to the basket of toys and snapped up one of the plushies to give it a full kill shake. 

Puppy was just done. 

Prince brought you a raccoon and didn't let go of it, trying to start a tug of war. After a few hours of hard play and your arms telling you they were not throwing any more toys, Prince got on the couch and flopped next to you. 

The only toy that survived the rampage was the banana. Apparently that was Puppy's toy exclusively because of the puns. 

You weren't too sure how intelligent dogs had to be to understand puns, but some animals did apparently display a sense of humor. You were guessing since it was kinda unlikely they knew potassium was in bananas, it was either something from maybe a former owner or just your tone of voice that'd made them get a chuckle over it. The other jokes were definitely understood though? Pretty cool stuff. And wariness aside, the hike seemed like it went really well and neither of them were trying to run off or attack any of the passerby or wildlife. 

Maybe you would be able to take these guys camping by the end of the summer. 

"Wanna go to bed?" 

"Rrrrrrrr." Prince complained. 

"You're tired, you don't still wanna play." 

He hopped tiredly off the couch to go give a toy a defiant squeak, but ended up laying back down on the floor with the toy in his teeth.

"You want a cookie?" Both heads perked up. "You want a bedtime cookie? You gotta go to bed." You kept your tone happy, but not super excited cause you didn't want to rile them up more before bed. Some people literally did a cookie for each of their dogs before bed to encourage it being a good time, and that was looking like it'd be what you'd need to start doing with them. 

You had to get up first to get the treats, and they did follow you to your room for them. A couple happy crunches later, they were flopped on the floor waiting for you to brush your teeth and get the light off for them. Total success. 

"Night guys." 

One of them answered with the tiniest boof, probably Prince, and it was time to sleep.

  
  
Chapter 3: Blue  
End Notes:

So they're not hera's hawks, they're Harris's hawks. It sounded the same and I hadn't seen it written and didn't look it up. But the other stuff about them in this fic so far has been accurate. 

I'm not naming any ocs outside of dogs. So don't worry about telling the humans apart if they show up cause this is a dog story. Dogs for days.

Also, this is in no way an endorsement to answer craigslist ads that don't have pictures of the animals posted. They seem skeevy to me, so use discretion and stay safe. They can totally have good animals to adopt and be legit, but meeting in public and bringing a burly muscular friend is always good.

  
  


Craigslist was pretty full of backyard breeders and people who for one reason or another, needed to re-home their pets. It was easy to get puppy-fever and start feeling like you really wanted to adopt a puppy, or five. 

While you were positive you wanted another dog, acknowledging that was barely the first step. A whole lot of puppies had kinda wonky eyes or a shocking tired-of-life look to them. There was a big difference between playing with a young dog enough that it'd sit still for a picture, and one just not being healthy and super tired from it. 

Prince and Puppy might look like living chew-toys to the wrong dog. You'd really have to look for one that'd get along with them. 

Checking Craigslist, a few pet stores, and the rescues in town, fairly regularly, was just something you started doing to keep an eye out. While there were bitty dogs out there too, none of them really stood out to you yet.

_____________________________________________________________________

Somebody had brought a live baby bird into the house. It was a scrawny, bony thing, like its parents had stopped looking after it. 

You didn't have a dog door for the guys to have gotten out by themselves, and you weren't wholly sure how'd they gotten it past you. Took a couple tries to catch it, cause it was trying to hide under the couch. The sad bird was now in a box lined with a towel with a water dish. 

It was a quick thing to find a bird rescue and take the baby over there and drop it off. The lady who took it said it was probably not getting looked after by its parents for being as underweight and young as it was. 

Whoo boy. If there had been a bird brought into the house by a normal dog, you'd expect them to maybe be vaguely confused that the bird was gone, but they'd be over it and stop looking in a day or so. It was such a normal event, you didn't think about it much other than getting the bird to a place it'd be helped and cared for. 

Both of your bitties were looking under the couch and wandering around the house in confusion, looking everywhere. 

"The bird went home guys, it's cool." 

A week and a half later, they were still on and off looking for the bird, giving you betrayed stares like you'd killed it sometime when they weren't watching. Neither of them wanted pets, pats, or cuddles, and they weren't allowing you to give them for old-times sake; it was ridiculously sad. It was time to go see the bird.

They both got baths to make sure they wouldn't be carrying any germs on their bones, and you drove the grouchy pair to the bird rescue. 

"Okay guys, you gotta be on your best behavior. No barking." You'd already called ahead and gotten it all worked out with everyone. Bitties didn't generally get the birds sick, but they could rile them up, so you'd have to carry them while you had them on tour in the building. 

They were not happy to be held, and were looking at the building like it was going to be something not so great.

The air was thick with bird dander smell as soon as you went in. It'd been pretty light outside, and inside it was definitely a bird rescue. 

Met up with a lady who worked there and did a short tour, seeing the birds that for one reason or another couldn't be released back into the wild and were permanent residents and considered animal ambassadors of their kind, going to events so their caretakers could teach about them so people who didn't regularly interact with them could know more about them. 

They had a Harris's hawk who'd broken a wing and it'd mended wrong before they could catch her. 

"That's the kind of hawk that you got in a scrap with, Puppy. They're stack-able birds in the wild since there's not many perches, the ladies will shove the guys off and take the best and sometimes only places, and then the other birds will just accept it and stand on the first bird's back instead, and then another might stand on the second bird's back. You can get bird towers. It's pretty cool." 

"They also have a huge area they can be found in. Anywhere from about the Arizona-Colorado desert areas, all the way down to South America." The lady put in. 

The bitties were both held together in one arm, harnesses on and the leashes in your free hand just in case. 

When you got to the baby bird, you had to go into a back room with someone to see what was up. Instead of finding a sterile cage where the baby had to keep being hand-fed, they'd actually sucessfully put it in with a pair of doves that'd adopted it. They were now fairly sure the baby was a kind of wren, and it was looking a little better for having been eating regularly for a week. 

The dogs were able to get a decent sniff from the outside of the cage, not letting them linger too long since the adult doves were giving them a wary eye. 

"See? You totally saved a bird, and now they're in a new home." 

________________________________________________________________

The dogs were a lot more happy coming out of the bird rescue than going into it. 

You pulled over to a short stop on the way back so you could do an impromptu walk on a bike path near a duck pond. Not too many ducks, but still a lot of evidence of ducks. Poop everywhere. Last time you'd been up here, there'd been an unbelievably excited puppy who'd thought 'wow, this is great! there are treats everywhere!!' and their person was having a rough time trying to get them to stop eating all the duck poop. 

Didn't think about it until you were already walking with the skeletons, and thankfully, they were not interested in the poop. 

Warm breezy day, you were still smelling a lot of bird smells because of the pond. The fresh air after being in the rescue was very necessary. 

Both bitties were walking by themselves, taking time to shake a lot and walk around you until you had to de-tangle the leashes. 

Everyone'd need a shower after you got back. You had a lowkey bird smell in your head. 

"Sadie, stop!" You heard someone shout, and this tiny little Aussie heeler came booking it up with their leash trailing out behind them. Stopped dead three feet away from your bitties, tail going a mile a minute. 

Despite having a lot less to them than the Aussie, clearly the other dog took one look at them and decided they were definitely OTHER DOGS and they were so excited and happy to see them they had to say hi. 

The Aussie was doing the full tail wag, belly low to the ground but still in a play bow, very polite seeing if coming up to the OTHER DOGS was okay with your dogs. There was some very stiff neck stretch outs to sniff each other, and it was looking like everybody was kinda okay with this meeting. Your two had met some other dogs at pet-friendly shops, and this wasn't new enough to be upsetting. 

The Aussie's owner came running up, holding their side like coming after the sheep dog had given them a stitch. 

"Hi, sorry. She didn't scare you?" They gathered up their lost leash, and their dog had flopped over on its side to stretch out its front paws playfully to yours, still trying to make herself less threatening. 

"Nah, she's fine." She looked like a sweetheart: clean pastel pink harness and matching leash, fairly clean dog asides from flopping on the ground to be less threatening so she could play. She was a fluffy, happy dog.

After a brief introduction, you teamed up with Sadie's person to continue walking all the dogs. The three of them were all perked up cause suddenly with OTHER DOGS the walk was now an adventure. 

Prince jumped up and stood on Sadie's back like he was trying to make a dog tower. 

"Hon, get down from there." 

"It's cool, she has goats at home. Kids jump all over everyone." Sadie's person laughed. 

Sadie did look totally stoked to be with other dogs, tail still going a mile a minute. 

You still had to head back, exchanged numbers in case your schedules lined up and you could both take your dogs hiking together. 

Prince and Puppy were both stoked after you got them back in the jeep. Puppy was worn out enough to just lay down. Prince still watched out the window, but seemed much more chill than his normal stiff vigilance.

Dog friends were great for keeping dogs more social. Didn't want to leave the dogs, even if they were skeleton dog bitties, without social skills. 

The busy day had gotten you back on the dogs' good sides when you got home. Puppy had decided it was a good day to curl up between your shoulder and the couch when you were super slumped back and cozy on it. Everyone had gotten showered off so there were no more bird smells.

Prince was stretched out on the last square of couch with his head on the arm of the couch. 

As nice as the Aussie had been, you had found out you'd brought some of her home later that day. You needed to lint roll your pants before you washed them to get the dog hair off them and make sure it didn't spread throughout your laundry. 

You'd really lucked out finding hairless dog bitties. The constant shedding and the poop wasn't something you needed to worry about with them, and they were still healthy dogs. 

While reptiles and fish were nice for similar reasons, maybe it'd be better to keep to all the same general species so you wouldn't have to worry about remembering the different care needed for them all.

Ehhh, maybe you'd stop looking for puppies and look for more adult dogs and bitties at the very least. Puppies were nice, but you liked sleeping, and didn't want to have to teach how not to go to the bathroom in the house. 

You'd need a lot more looking around before you could get a good idea of what you wanted to get. A little shed and poop in the yard would be okay work. The biggest characteristic you weren't shaking on was that they needed to get along with the dogs you already had.

_______________________________________________________________________

A lot of Craigslist ads didn't have actual pictures. You responded to a few even without pictures, ask what the rehoming fee was, how old the animal was, if it was a bitty or a regular dog, what kind of animals it had been socialized with and so on. 

A couple are always call-only, and it's usually old people who _really_ want their pets to go to good places. 

One person had their dog as an outside dog, they barked a lot, but they were a good dog. They were really pushing that they were a good dog. They'd tried to socialize it before they got sick, but it just went downhill for them, and they really just wanted the dog to get a good place. 

It was heartfelt enough that you figured you'd go over and if the dog was nice but didn't get along with your guys, you could help make a better ad for the owner so they would be able to find a home for the dog easier. 

You worked it out with them that you'd come over and meet the dog before seeing if you wanted to try and see if it got along with your guys. 

It took a good ten minutes after calling to let him know you'd arrived that the guy got to the door to let you in. He wasn't willing to tell you what he was sick with other than a non-communicable disease. He looked like somebody's grandfather, and shuffled back to his chair in the livingroom to sit after greeting and letting you in. 

"Dog's in the backyard. I'm sure you can find it." 

That was a whole lot of trust the old guy was putting in you not to go through his house and snoop, and even if you didn't want the dog, you were making up your mind to take it with you and maybe keep it in your spare room if it didn't work out well with your dogs. This guy was super tired and probably needed his energy for fighting whatever he was sick with: he didn't have enough of it to make sure he fed an outside dog on time. 

"Alrighty, thanks for letting me see them." You were thinking it might be a later stage of cancer. People did come to desert climates a lot because the high altitude and dry air was supposed to be good for you when you were sick. Same as how people went for the humid hot air to Florida when they had poor circulation and joint problems. 

The living room went straight to the kitchen, looked like someone had been doing the dishes for him, but the trash needing taking out, and you went through the sliding glass door out to the backyard. 

You saw the long tie going from an aspen to under the steps of the old deck. 

The dishes still had food and water in them, and there was a dog bed under the steps where it was nearly as protected from the elements as if it had been set in a doghouse. 

You had to walk around the steps and kneel to see the dog. 

Two fuzzy, soft little eyelights were looking back at you like Puppy right after being woken up too early. 

"Hey buddy. Wanna come out and say hi?" You patted your knee, and offered your hand out to see if they wanted to come out and do the sniff test. 

They got up, and came out head down, tail wagging, and came right up for pets, not bothering with sniffing first. Their whole body language saying 'shy good dog' and 'please love me'. 

The skeleton bitty was built really similarly to Prince, acting as cuddly and in need of a pet as Puppy. 

Spent like a solid ten minutes just petting this sweetheart. They were one of those dogs who'd never met a stranger, and they were just SO happy to see you.

In thirty minutes you bought the dog, took out the guy's kitchen trash for him, and hit the road with your new bitty. 

They were so excited! The world running past the windows was amazing! The smells in the back of the jeep were amazing! They loved you and the car ride was amazing!

They were loud barking at everyone and everything and all the cars, the whole way home. 

Carried them in, and there was instant barking from them and Prince.

Prince was jumping at your feet, trying to get up to the OTHER DOG you were holding. He was actually looking way more excited than just meeting a dog for the first time. A lot of the time with new dogs he was just a little aloof, not super jumpy. 

The new dog's tail was going a mile a minute. Which, bone tail hitting your side, not the most comfortable thing. 

"Hold your ponies." You kinda wanted them to hang out outside so they didn't tear through the house like a hurricane. Everyone was emoting happiness and OTHER DOG!!! Even Puppy had deemed it necessary to get up and there was real tale wagging. Both doggos were trying to stand up waaaaay on their back legs to stretch and see the new friend. 

Had to face facts, you were not going to make it to the back door to let them outside yet. 

So you sat down on the floor, keeping a good hold of the new skeleton dog. Being excited to see each other didn't mean they would instantly play nice. It'd be better to keep control of them for a minute to make sure nobody started biting.

Nope, your hands were full of pure love and excitement. Both Prince and Puppy climbed onto your lap to get close and get a big friendly sniff. The new dog really did look a whole lot like Prince. It was possible they were related and knew each other.

"You guys good? I'm gonna let you go now. Play nice." 

They jetted off like racehorses out of the gate. Zooming and tearing around the house in excitement. 

Puppy left the other two to play fight after playing long enough to need to stop to catch his breath, and ended up sitting with you on the couch to watch. 

The semi-violent, LOUD vocalizations from the two, doing open mouth fake I'm going to bite you' without doing any fake bites, was about as loud and fake vicious as husky play fights. It was hilarious and nice. Really seemed like they knew each other, getting along great. They were booking it around the house. The skitter skitter of their claws on the kitchen tile was especially funny. 

Took until dinner for the two to start seeming like they were wearing down, laying next to each other with a plush toy between them and still threatening to pull by biting it, but neither had enough oomph left to continue. 

Everybody got scrambled eggs on top of their food to celebrate the new family member. 

"Kay guys, time for bed." You called once it started getting late, and instead of complaining, Prince was instantly up and booking it down the hall, new (or old?) friend hot on his heels. Then he poked his head back out of the room to look at you like 'hey, bedtime cookies now. I know how this works now.'

Tonight you had to grab three cookies for the dogs instead of just two. 

You'd worry about names later. For now, it was time to sleep.

  
  
Chapter 4  
End Notes:

Did someone share this or something cause the kudos like, jumped up over like two days. Glad you guys are here for good dogs either way.

  
  


Blue was about as high energy as Prince, not a medium-energy dog like you were hoping for. He and Prince got on very well. Prince was almost getting worn out regularly with another dog around as high energy as he was.

Sometimes you gotta just admit you were out of dog names. You'd named Blue cause he was the sunniest little ray of happy dog you had seen in years. Named him cause he wasn't "blue" or sad and mopey. Not because you were out of good dog names, even if you were out of good dog names. Color-code your animals. 

You got another toy to make a joke with to see if Blue understood them too, and whether or not he liked them. It was a little bread bun toy. One of those cute ones that was soft enough to be squished into a bite-able size for a smaller dog while the size of the toy insinuated it'd probably be better for one a bit larger than yours. You got a handful of various other toys you didn't need along with it so you wouldn't have to pay for shipping on Amazon. Also good for fairness, so everyone was getting new toys. 

Prince and Blue played tug of war for nearly a full hour while you were doing general getting the house tidied up things and deciding on what to make for lunch. Kept an eye on them just out of the corner of your eye, waiting. 

Then it happened. Blue finally bounced on the squishy bread bun plush.

"Look kid, you're on a roll!" 

The play stopped almost immediately. 

Blue looked at the toy under his feet, looked at you, and made the saddest emote with his body language. Not a whole lot of facial expression with dogs, much less from these bitties, but the tail slumped down from the happy banner it had been, the wagging stopping.

You couldn't fix the mistake. Prince went back to attacking Blue to get him to start playing again, and it went on halfheartedly until you put down lunch for them.

The next few hours Blue was carrying the roll toy and acting droopy. 

The next few days the dog started keeping tabs on the toy like how some dogs got super attached to something like it needed watching to make sure it was safe. 

It wasn't super like Puppy with the banana plush. That was just having a favorite toy. The roll was more like a comfort item. Blue's emotional well-being started looking grounded in watching over the toy and he didn't like you taking it to wash it. 

Blue sat in front of the wash and watched and waited until he saw the toy go into the dryer, waited, waited, waited, until it came out of the dryer and you handed it back to him. Took it super gently, tail wag in appreciation, and went off with it. Usually was found with the toy either on his legs or right nearby. 

You hadn't named Blue for being mopey, but that started to be how he acted. 

 

_______________________________________________________________________________

 

Blue was a great hiker, didn't mind the harness too much. Sometimes he and Prince would be so Go Go GO about it, you'd have to pick Puppy up and carry him since he was a much lower energy dog.

You got a few friends together and you were finally going to go camping with your trio of boiyos. It'd be a lot of fresh air and get everyone's head clear. 

While Blue was still a little mopey sometimes, he was mostly cheery and was pretty good at listening to directions. 

All three dogs were riding in the back of the jeep. Prince and Blue were up to poke their heads close to the cracked windows and Prince was doing his utmost to sleep through the ride.

It was early enough you didn't get stuck in any major traffic. You arrived at the last town before you got a huge stretch of nothing and got to the campground pretty on time. You figured, hey, it'd be good to grab some extra dog cookies and treats from a pet store to give it a push for it to be a positive experience. You'd already got gas, so it was just a nice cherry on top. The dogs loved going shopping in pet-friendly stores with you.

Of course ya gotta look at all the fish and other animals while you're moseying around the store. A turtle _hurled_ itself into the water as soon as you got close and apparently it was just a high energy speedy one. It'd given you and your bitties, and many other people, a light shock.

You went to check out the cats in the back, and there were two skeletons, just like your dogs, in one of the top kennels. Cocoa and Candy had been there for a good five months. Their notes said no kids, no dogs, no cats. Other bitties might be okay.

They were curled up together in the way back farthest from the front of the kennel in a cat bed together, and the sides were too high for your bitties to see them from the ground.

"Hey babies. How are you two doing?" You were playing with fire. There was no way you could safely take two new bitties on the camping trip, and you really needed to walk away before your dogs saw them and potentially started a ruckus.

You barely got half a tale wag. No heads coming up or anything. It was nap time. Your bitties were used to other dogs, but other bitties like them seemed few and far between in this town. 

It'd be foolish, if not outright potentially unsafe, to bring dogs you didn't know with you on a camping trip. But they were also bitties. It might work out okay since they were pretty intelligent. They were also still dogs, and could freak out at the sudden change of scenery. 

Except they looked like your dogs, and it made you itch to make a bad decision. 

You had friends who were going on the trip who could help keep an eye on them. But you just couldn't justify to yourself asking about them when they could turn out to be harness or leash aggressive from previous bad training, or runners who would book it at the slightest chance of escape.

You left the other bitties without any of the dogs the wiser, and walked out to the parking lot with a bagful of treats and three blissfully ignorant dogs who were ready to go camping.

________________________________________________________________________

Skunks did a whole lot of warning before they actually sprayed. Stomping, turning around or standing on their front paws to show off their distinctive markings depending on the species like 'hey buddy, I'm a SKUNK, ya SEE?' 

The stomping of their front feet as a warning off, was unfortunately very much like the patting the ground then play-bow that dogs did. 

Some baby skunks were crossing one of the trails following their mom, and the babies were stopping to stomp at your dogs. 

You had to scoop up the dogs and continue on walking quietly and unobtrusively. Cause your dogs weren't too nosy, but they were all going 'other dogs?' at the baby skunks, and you didn't want to find out how the old home remedies worked on bone. 

Actually, skunk spray had an oil in it, which is why it was so hard to clean and get rid of. Some grease-cutting kitchen soap might help. But with bone being porous, you didn't want to try your luck. 

Your bitties were stuck tied to a tree in the shade by one of your friends and the folding chairs while you were setting up the tent. Whooooooo boy. Blue was fine being tied. Prince and Puppy were not. They were upset and standing the closest to you they could, vocalizing their dislike of being tied anytime you went around the other side of the tent and were out of sight. 

They didn't want to be pat or pet by any of your friends, and had to deal with being tied until you were all done settling everything up. It was their first camping trip, and you weren't going to have them off-leash for it.

By the time you were ready to sit down, the bitties had tangled themselves up enough they were talking loudly the way dogs do, unhappy and accusing. 

You untangled them, and they sat unhappily under your camping chair while you made smores with your friends. Mostly you found it nice to go with other people since it was a bit safer not to be anywhere 'outdoors' without at least one other person who could drive in case of an emergency. 

You gave your dogs warm marshmallows on crackers as a treat after they ate their dinner, still not willing to give dogs chocolate even if bitties 'could' eat it. The amount of caffeine for their body size could still be strongly frowned at by veterinarians, and you'd rather not risk it. 

You took the dogs for another hike before bed so they could settle down a bit more. Even Puppy was doing the full walk and not dragging behind. 

The tent was nice and big, and there were three rooms so you could separate out into two sleeping quarters and one big room in the middle for playing board games. The sheer relief the dogs had from being off-leash when all the doors were zipped up was huge. 

They were zooming around and checking everything for a good bit before they finally started settling down while you and yours friends were playing uno. 

Prince had gotten cozy enough around you lately, the formerly less-affectionate dog had been curling up against your side on the couch more often than not. 

Now he was staring vigilant at the zipped tent door, laying stiff and alert. 

Finally you went to your section of the tent and got the dogs in, said goodnight to the others, and zipped yourself up. 

You were safe to take their harness for bedtime, let them know it was time to sleep. Not a one of them laid down when you got in your sleeping bag and turned the electric lantern off. 

No howling or yelling, so you got cozy and settled in. Figured they'd settle down once you were out since they'd follow your lead. 

The dogs were up and awake far before you were, and they felt chilly to the touch like they hadn't curled up in their bed to be warm and sleep. Accepted pets, and were fine with their harnesses to get back on for the most part. 

They were also alert and watchful of the trees and the other campers during breakfast, eating almost in turns so two of them were looking around at once. Blue was in on the emotional mess too. 

Puppy was doing the full morning hike the other two were doing the same way he'd kept up out of anxiety last night. He didn't want to be carried and dodged your hands when you kneeled down to offer, despite panting a hurricane like he was overdoing it. 

All three dogs were clearly tired and hyper-vigilant by the time lunch rolled around. They weren't having a good time, and you decided to cut the weekend short and say bye to everyone. Packed up your stuff with very anxious dogs tied to the tree again so they weren't in the way or running off, and retrieved them last so you didn't have to juggle anything.

"Come on guys, we're going home." You untied them and gave waves to your friends who were still going to stick to the campgrounds. 

All three dogs jumped into the jeep by themselves. 

Puppy usually sad-stared until you picked him up, if you hadn't already done it. 

The dogs were incredibly ready to go. You could almost say they were- pfff.

"Oh man, pfffff, sorry guys. You just look dog-tired." You joked gently.

"ruuuuUUUuuuuuu." "RuuuuUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuu." "Ruuuuuuu." 

Came a tired chorus in response. 

"That's okay, guys. You did pretty well for a first camping trip. Good dogs." You gave them pats before you got in the driver's seat. "Nobody got hurt. Nobody ate anything they shouldn't. Everybody avoided the poison ivy off the trails. Nobody got skunk sprayed." They were already perking up and listening a little better now that the jeep was on and they were headed home. "Maybe we need some longer leads so you can wander a little bit farther when you're tied." It'd be a pain to make sure they didn't tangle themselves all over the camp, but it'd be better than having them freaking out on a short tie again. 

You sighed when you saw the pet store with the other bitties on the way home. Your dogs were already dead-tired, and they'd fought it, but the drive had put them to sleep and the three of them were checked out, full asleep in the back of the jeep on their blanket. 

Any hope of having them all meet after a fun and exciting camping trip was out the window. For now you'd have to wait and see if you felt like making the drive up here again anytime soon. 

________________________________________

Puppy was a wreck. He didn't want to go on walks, he didn't want to walk around the house. 

It'd been pretty easy to see he'd been overdoing it from anxiety during the hikes you'd taken while out camping, and he was paying for it now. You dominate hand and arm were also paying for it, cause he didn't want to be in the carrier bag. He wanted to be held and carried by you personally. 

So you had a tired dog glued to your arm when you walked Blue and Prince, and a tired dog glued to your side while you were on the couch. 

Any attempts to get him to play by either Blue or Prince was received by him playing dead. He wasn't even up for holding onto the end of a toy or rope while laying down so one of the other two could try and take it in a tug of war. 

After two weeks of him being a noodle, he might have recovered enough to get back up and get back to life. At that point, he was just being a noodle for the sake of being a noodle, you were fairly sure. 

Puppy went so far to hide from playtime that he'd curled up in your jacket _behind your back_ so you couldn't lean back into the couch, and had to lean more against the arm while you were sitting cross-legged there. 

You were eating goldfish crackers and offering one every now and then to the lump curled up behind you. 

Well, he was eating. He wasn't showing any signs of being sick. Wasn't acting like anything specific was hurting him. All his feet looked fine. He was probably just needing a break from living with two high energy dogs and trying to keep up with them. 

"I'm good with you needing a break from your brothers, Pup, but if you don't start walking at least a bit around the house again, you're going to the vet just in case something's up." 

Puppy didn't respond to the threat other than a short whine and curling up tighter towards the couch, farther back in the 'cave' of your jacket so he didn't have to bother with all that.

So a few days more, you took him to the vet. Got a couple scans, and turns out, yeah, he had no breaks or fractures, healthy weight, just being a drama boi. 

You got out an old hoodie with a sturdier hood than the ones made nowadays, and offered Puppy a place in the hood. You weren't going to force the issue of him walking around if he was that determined to rest. 

He looked at you, looked at the hood, and went right in like a sugar glider into its nap-sack. 

That solved the issue of him tiring out your arms being constantly carried, and it kept him close where he wanted to be.

  
  
Chapter 5: Snails* and Stretch  
Summary:

*if you mispronounce snails, you get...

  
  
End Notes:

Gone to the Snow Dogs is a real Youtube channel and this couple has three gorgeous huskies. I would definitely rec them if you need more good doggo content in your life. 

I was going to name all the dogs new things. Names are hard tho, and it would have taken longer than writing this whole fic so far to figure out what I liked better. So Prince and Puppy are keeping their names, probably going to name the others more easily identifiable stuff.

And again, Prince=Black, and Puppy=Russ or sf Pap since he does get other nicknames.

  
  


Sadie the Aussie was turning five years old, and her person was throwing a dog party. 

You'd made pretty good friends with her person, and your bitties had already met most of the dogs going to the party. It was just out of town, and they had goats and chickens. It was going to be a whole lot of excitement. 

Half the dogs who came were huskies and golden retrievers. The humans sat around and had a barbecue while the dogs had THE BEST PARTY. There were kiddy pools set out. Almost twenty dogs including yours were hanging out. 

The dogs were all offered hot dog pieces and all got a little baggy of goodies to take home. 

There were literally dog-safe, mini birthday cupcakes. Sadie's owner had really wanted it to be a good party, and everybody got pictures of the cuteness. 

Puppy wanted to do a hard pass on the celebrations, but at your insistence he try to have fun, he went and took a nap with an elderly sheepdog who also was just happy watching the goings on without joining in. 

You ended up with tired but happy dogs by the end of the day. 

Three dogs was a lot of dogs. Bitties were a little more social because of their intelligence, and the general anxiety in the house was shockingly lower for a good few days. Not a whole lot to be anxious about when you didn't live super in town and had lots of space compared to such little doggos, but it was still a noticeable amount of chill. 

After a bit more thought, since three dogs was a lot of dogs. You called the pet store out by the campgrounds. Four or five was a WHOLE LOT of dogs. A whole lot of dogs who might be more socially stable with more dogs around.

Cocoa and Candy were still up there. Pretty normal rescue names, and found out that's what their former owner had named them. 

_______________________________________________________________

There was nervous excitement from the bitties while you drove down to the pet store. You'd told them you were all going to see some other dog bitties to see if they all got along, but you hadn't told them they were other skeleton dogs.

Since you needed to know if either of the two got along with all three of your dogs, you arranged to reserve the training area they had for their dog training lessons so the dogs could meet in a neutral space that didn't 'belong' to any of them. It could be unnecessary since they were bitties. Still good to er to the side of safety.

The lady who was helping you had you sit with your dogs in the little walled area while she went and got the other two. 

She came back with the two in a box so she could try one at a time to see what happened. Pulled the first one out, and all the dogs perked up. Cocoa kinda had Prince and Blue's look. 

Blue stood up on his back legs, tail going a mile a minute. Prince and Puppy were a lot more sedate about their interest, but still pretty happy. 

The other dog was quiet tail wagging, not wiggling or anything. Getting set down, they headed right over, and quietly accepted being sniffed over and sniffed the others over too. 

All of them were good, so the other one got pulled out. 

Blue started jumping, and let out a few loose barks. 

"Hey, settle, settle. Inside voice." You pet Blue's back to settle him out. You were okay with them being excited, but you didn't like them barking too loud in public since it set off other dogs and then things got LOUD. 

Blue did drop the loudness a bit more, but none of the excitement left. 

The second new dog did the biggest full body stretch, and went right for Blue. Blue was jumping and sniffing, and the other dog just flopped over on its side, all tails going a mile a minute. Wonder how much horse power that was. You could probably power one of those plastic mini-jeeps they used to make for kids with all that dog power.

It was like the happiest dog reunion. 

Mostly Blue was the happiest dog.

Took a bit, but the first dog turned their attention over to you and started sniffing your shoes and pants. 

You offered a hand for them to check the metaphorical newspaper on you. 

Took a sniff, and raised its head to bump your hand and get pets. 

It was a really good thing you didn't live in town or in a city, since you were about to get another two dogs. Most cities around you had a four dog limit, mostly to try and stop hoarders. 

Laws with bitties were a little more lax with quantity, since they were so social, but you never really knew what a pet shop's personal policies were going to be. 

They turned out to be okay with it, cause the lady made a circuit through the dog stuff with you with and all five of the dogs. Got a bigger dog bed and another small one, so they could all hang out together or the new two could still curl up together. 

They did have the brand of harness you liked, and when you tried it on, the pair were too happy and chill to care. Better to leave them on at least until you got home for safety, then let them get used to them with lots of treats. 

The lady was like 1000% on you making tags RIGHT THEN at the little tag station. So Stretch, cause he introduced himself with the biggest stretch, and Sans, cause you couldn't stop thinking about a kid you'd seen recently who could not pronounce snails, got their tags. You weren't calling them Candy and Cocoa, that was like every dog you found at a shelter's placer name when you were younger. 

And the _look_ this lady who had been so great and wonderful for so so long, was almost priceless. She went through the stages of grief at those names, and then brightened up. 

"Those are cute! What usually gets told as the general rule for renaming a dog is like, the last syllable has to be the same as their old name cause that's what they pay attention to. But since they're bitties, they'll probably appreciate starting fresh getting out of here." She gave all the dogs pats and pets. Just a super sunny, super nice person. 

You actually did not eat breakfast, and after you'd piled five dogs in the back of your jeep, who had all eaten breakfast, you decided to run through a drive-through and maybe get something hot to drink to make sure you didn't get dizzy or anything on the drive back. 

Everybody was talking and singing in the back. It was like a chorus of huskies. 

_____________________________________

 

Puppy didn't instantly get energy. He was at least walking around the house a little now since there were other dogs who weren't going to bolt around the house or jump on him. 

But Sans and Stretch were lumps after the initial house and yard investigation. They were happy just being couch dogs, and Puppy was not being a good influence. Cause Puppy liked being in your hood, and liked being carried. 

Neither of the new dogs thought that that idea was anything less than a GREAT one. They were a little wary of being lapdogs, still getting used to you and getting used to the house, but not having to jump up onto, or down off of, the couch, and not having to get in the car by themselves was all appreciated. 

Gone to the Snow Dogs on Youtube made a dog-safe mint shake, with coconut milk. You were going to use fresh mint instead of an extract and leave out the dye, but that's what you were making. It'd probably be fine for larger dogs to have a very small amount, but with smaller ones it'd be safer not to have the extract since it had alcohol. 

Having a whipped cream can just for dogs sounded nice, if you weren't sure you'd forget and use it yourself.

"You excited?" You asked Puppy, since he was stretched out in your hood and had his head resting on your shoulder to see what you were doing with the blender. Cooking the fresh mint out in water had happened yesterday, and everything was nice and chilled so you could assemble the shakes. It was also nice nothing was unsafe for people, so you could try it too. "So excited?" 

Puppy just yawned. 

You had to step around all your other 'helpers' since everyone was either laying around the kitchen floor, or following you around to see what you were doing. In a couple more minutes, you were pouring the shakes into ramekins and topping them with whipped cream. 

The five of them were doing the peanut butter stuck to their mouth/this is so good must lick own mouth thing with the whipped cream. 

There was no added sugar or sweetener beyond what was in the whipped cream. Coconut milk still had good bit of sweetness with it. What you tried of the shake wasn't too bad. Pretty good.

Once they got to the mint, there was mixed reactions. 

Prince reeled back like you'd betrayed him. And the _look_ he gave you, like it was a personal slight.

"Not a fan of mint?" All the other dogs, including Puppy who you had to set down to eat, were varying levels of liking it. 

Prince pushed his over to Puppy, and looked like he was about ready to turn up his nose at you and stomp out.

"Hold on, don't run off hun!" You were trying to hold in your laughter, couldn't stop yourself from smiling. "It's okay if you're not a fan. I can get you something else." It was just a treat, not a meal replacement. You'd put a note on the fridge later about his preference against mint. 

Prince waited, but if any dog could look impatient and uncertain of whether or not what you were getting was good, it was this one.

You got another ramekin, and just put whipped cream out of the can in it. You could remember later to get Prince's part of a dog-friendly shake out before you put the flavoring in next time. For now, he'd liked the whipped cream. 

If he'd been expecting a dry cookie as a replacement, he definitely perked up at the second option you had for him. 

Tail wagged once, and very daintily, very unhurriedly, ate the whipped cream once you'd set it down. 

Took about ten minutes for Blue and Prince to start zooming around the house. They actually got Sans in on it, and he jumped up on the couch and used the high ground to be a bit faster coming down to almost jump on them. 

Stretch and Puppy tried to stay out of it. They did get pulled into the game a little at the end. Did a little halfhearted bouncing to show off how much they were playing, even if they weren't playing much. Didn't take much to rev Prince and Blue up to start play fighting and husky-dog yelling the whole time. Sans kept up for awhile, took more breaks and just stood around for some of it. 

Didn't seem like it'd been that long since bringing home the new guys, but there were five pretty happy, if worn out, dogs in the living room.

  
  
Chapter 6  
End Notes:

The stuff about unsweetened lemon kool aid being good for cleaning your dishwasher and using unsweetened, concentrated and hot red kool aid to clean stainless steel. Watch out it will stain your hands, and it does not smell good on them. 

You have all eight dogs. You think it's a good idea to keep them? Do you wanna meet the Dadster bitty or whichever had this huge litter of doggos? Let me know your thoughts.

  
  


Your dogs never had an acclimation period or any time where they needed to get used to each other. Even bitties needed time to get used to each other. Since they were all the same kind of bitty, it was pretty well pointing to them having grown up together, maybe even be brothers from the same original pair. 

You left Blue's old owner a message instead of texting, since he was not quite someone who seemed like he texted. Didn't seem like a long shot. The guy might be able to shed some light on the dogs' background. 

The guy's daughter called back. Old dude was doing good, in recovery from chemo, and if you wanted to come visit so he could see Blue was doing okay, you were welcome to it. She went so far as to tell you what days she'd be free to come too, and you worked out when to come over. 

A couple things to keep in mind was not to wear any perfume, scented deodorant, or use any scented detergent to wash the clothes you were going to wear there. The guy was sensitive to everything like that and had an asthmatic response to being around scented things. 

That was fine, cause you'd picked up making your own laundry detergent. It was cheaper, honestly. The scents in commercial detergents actually did get connected to lung conditions and cancer of all things. It also really ate up your skin from the residue left on your clothes, and it was so sad, cause it made your clothes super clean and crisp, but it irritated your skin and made you super itchy. It actually made you less itchy before you stopped using it. Weirdest thing.

Kinda like how Kool Aid smelled really good when you grew up on it, but if you don't add sugar you can use the red kind, with hot water and no sugar added, to clean stainless steel. It smelled like a cleaner without the sugar to to change the smell. Lemon kool aid without sugar could be used to clean your dishwasher because of the citric acid content. Pretty wild. 

So you got ready, and took over just Blue so you wouldn't overwhelm the guy with a DOG PARTY. Took the other four and dropped them off with Sadie's person beforehand so they could be looked after while you were gone. 

Prince downright almost threw a tantrum when he realized you were leaving them and not Blue. You'd told them what was happening, but the reality of it was not acceptable. 

Luckily, Sadie was still the best dog, and she was excited her bEST FRIENDS (other dogs) were over at her house. She football tackled Prince, and yodeled at him until she got a responding play attack. 

Blue wiggled in jealousy, cause he was still leashed and going somewhere else, and they were playing. 

Teatime went super well. Once Blue saw the old guy and his adult daughter who was a good bit older than you, there was a lot of love and doggy kisses. While you were able to show some pictures and videos of the dogs to them, you got the lady's email so you could send some of them over for them to keep. 

He'd gotten Blue from someone whose bitty had taken off for a few months, and come back pregnant. Wasn't exactly a backyard breeder, but the person had not been the kind of person to take back a dog when their home wasn't working out for whatever reason. He had gotten back to them to see if they'd take back Blue when he couldn't take care of him, but didn't work out. 

From what he knew it had been a fairly well-socialized litter. None of them had been sold or adopted out until they were two years old. He'd gotten Blue five years ago, never had any problems beyond him trying to eat bees and wasps in the yard occasionally as a puppy. 

You got the person's contact info from him, though you hadn't decided whether or not you wanted to talk to them yet. 

______________________________________________________________

It was a good thing you left a bag of the dog food you had them on with Sadie's person, cause you did not get back there until pretty late. It was already past four and you'd dropped them off around nine. 

You'd gotten dinner for you and Sadie's person at a burger joint as a thank you for babysitting all day. 

All the dogs got a fry as a treat and you hung out and chatted for a bit. 

The conversation went to camping with dogs. With dogs new to the game, it was sometimes really helpful to bring much older dogs who wouldn't be affected by a younger's anxiety. Especially one that was quietly happy about the whole event. Not being overly excited made it feel more mundane and everyday, not something to freak out about. 

You got the numbers for a couple people with sprightly and elderly golden retrievers. Sadie's person would get something together, and you could say hello and make friends in the meantime. The answer to anxious dogs could be less anxious dogs for them to take notes from. It'd be worth a shot. 

Without the hoodie you wore around the house, Prince was standing on your shoulders behind your head and occasionally yelling at you, and Puppy was on your lap trying to be full held like a teddy bear. 

Blue tried to convince a tired Sadie to play with him since he'd missed out on being there. She didn't have the energy to run and play, but she did have the energy to yell and fake-fight if she didn't have to get up to do it. 

You played Uno for awhile, chatted a bit more until the dogs chilled out and stopped yelling.

____________________________________________________________________

"Wanna go hike hike hike?" You'd gotten a bigger, woven basket bag that breathed well, and put a cushy blanket in the bottom. It could fit three napping small dogs if they didn't mind curling up together, which they didn't. Blue and Prince were the only ones interested in going hiking. Instantly stopped and perked up, staring at you. 

Yeah, the basket fit Puppy, Sans, and Stretch, pretty well. Heads were poked out and resting on the edge of the thing so they could still see and smell the sights passing by, but didn't have to walk the whole time if they needed a break. 

A couple hikes were just Blue and Prince hiking, and everyone else demanding to be carried halfway through. Others you might have five dogs walking the whole way, or three dogs being hauled in the basket and two in your "free" (not so free now) arm. 

Another three months, and you were going camping again. A lot of the group you were meeting up with were in the "spry, elderly aro/ace people" and "spry, elderly doggos". Nobody had grandchildren or kids, just dogs. You and Sadie's person were going to be the youngest around, and have the youngest doggos. 

You literally borrowed four old dogs from other campers to use as almost babysitters. You had slightly longer ties so they could wander a little more, and did the hands-free, dog tied to your belt leads. So your dogs were still tied and safe from getting lost in the forest, and they weren't feeling left behind or stuck being away from you. 

They were super underfoot while you were putting up the tent, but again, looked a lot less anxious about being able to stick with you or wander a bit. 

Night came, you got cozy in your sleeping bag, and the dogs all forgoed their bed and curled up in the sleeping bag with you. Wasn't a cold night. They were nervous and handling it by dog-piling. 

Again, wasn't a cold night. They eventually got disgusted with how warm you got and went to their own bed. 

In the middle of the night, amongst the light bird chatter and occasional animal calls, there was an ominous.... 

fweeeeeep~

And then a deep lip flapping, dog sigh. 

It was worse than a raccoon checking your stuff out and getting grabby hands.

fweeEEEp~

Another deep doggy sigh.

It was a gassy old dog somewhere in the camping grounds. 

fweep.

You had to bite your lip to not laugh. You''d wake everybody up. 

Your shaking and teeny tiny, under your breath laughs eventually did get your dogs back up to check on you. The scritch, scritch, scritch of claws on a tent floor and Prince was right in your face. Aww, knight in shining armor. Prince Charming trying to make sure you were okay. 

Eight pounds of protective dog instinct in a seven pound bag.

"Somebody's gassy out there." You had to tell him. "It's so hard not to laugh. It's like midnight. I don't want to wake everyone up." You whispered. 

Once you got up and had breakfast, you learned that whichever it was, upwind or downwind, whichever meant you didn't smell the farts, you were the only one who didn't smell farts all last night. 

Couldn't tell if it was because of all the old dogs, bigger camping group, or having Sans and Stretch around, maybe a combo of all of them, but there was a pretty decent change in how freaked/not the dogs were. 

You were still going to pack up early, only staying one night. Didn't want to overwhelm the dogs or risk it turning sour for them. It turned out well, you might try it again with a big group like this again. It was only the second camping trip for three of them, and the first for the other two. 

It was fine enough. 

Everybody was in high spirits. Although they were acting like they could've had fun spending another day camping, they were definitely all happy to be headed home. You made a short run into the pet-friendly pet store so you could let the dogs walk around a bit, got a cookie for each one at the checkout and didn't need much else. You'd all had breakfast, so you'd be pretty good til you got home. 

You were still interested in getting a hot drink from somewhere, just keep yourself a bit more awake on a long drive. Or even a spring-themed shake might be good.

The windows were partly down, dogs singing in the back, while you were getting in the drive-through. And there was an answering dog-holler from outside. 

The dogs snapped their teeth shut to listen, and then everybody was up and talking, all crowding to one side of the car. 

There was another skeleton bitty outside the car. 

You were frozen for a moment, they weren't getting close to the jeep, staying safely in the median and rising up on their back legs to see better and get a good look at your dogs. 

Sans was immediately making the saddest cry you'd heard from any of them. 

You were next in line, and had to get your drink and pay before you could think of what to do. You pulled over and parked in the parking lot, and had to clip on all the leashes, before opening the door, cause everyone was trying to see the other bitty and you didn't want to have someone run out into traffic.

Everyone had wanted to get out of the car and the stray wasn't in any way shying off from the group. 

The stray bolted off to the back of the building, and your dogs tried to pull you like huskies pulled. You went with it to see what was up. The stray was looking back and barking like Lassie. 

Had to go almost completely on your stomach to see what was under there. You just hoped it wasn't a litter of puppies or an adopted baby kitten, neither of which would probably come out for a strange human. 

Two pairs of eyelights were staring back at you. Unhappy, warning growls started up almost immediately. Two other bitty dogs, like your dogs, were curled up together near the middle of the underneath space of the dumpster, away from all the wheels.

"Hey babies. How are you doin'?" You started sweet-talking, and seeing how they reacted to seeing your hands. 

They growled and stared, and they didn't move when you slowly put you hand under the dumpster towards them. The growls got fiercer, kinda flinching down to not be touched, but they weren't moving away. 

You did have to go stomach flat on the ground, and reach under there, with all the smells and the warm asphalt under you, to get ready to have a steady base to lift a dog at an angle. 

You were very surprised there was no biting for the amount of vicious growling being directed at you. You gave some gentle pets and more sweet-talking, they were flinchy, and the growls weren't super dying down. 

"Okay buddy, let's get you out." You got your hand under the first one, and pulled it out slowly. It was like picking up a baby peeper, er, chick. Baby chicken. They made a whole lot of noise, but they weren't pecking or biting or scratching. Just limp and looking back at the other and crying. "Oh good baby. There ya go." Didn't look super good. Took off your jacket one handed, having to transfer the dog to your other hand for a second, and then you swaddled it so it wouldn't be able to run even while it was screaming. 

You went back flat on the asphalt, and reached in to get the other one. Cried the whole time and didn't run away even while it was trying to go flat so you couldn't get it. Still not a single nip or bite. They weren't even thrashing. 

Acting like they were in rough shape, not sure if you saw any breaks or injuries on their legs. 

Definitely looking like they needed a vet visit. 

They were pretty dirty, and had the same kind of non-Newtonian fluid that bitties ran on caked on their teeth like they had not been being kept in good shape out here. Let you bundle them both up in your hoodie and carry them back to the jeep to set them in. Everybody else was either jumping in or letting you pick them up to set them back in the back.

There were eight dogs in the jeep. 

Two of them definitely needed to make a vet trip. 

This was not planned.

  
  
Chapter 7  
End Notes:

Critical Care is something good for herbivores, and is very good is your herbivorous pet is having trouble wanting to eat and needs a lot more substance in the smaller amounts you are able to get them to eat.

So this definitely ended a bit abruptly, but I was writing it for good dogs and less stress, and it was blowing up into something a little more stressful and time consuming than I wanted it to be. Thanks for joining me on this adventure, have a good one.

  
  


You took all the dogs to the same vet you'd taken Prince and Puppy to when you'd taken them home. 

Lots of growling from the two who weren't getting up, but still not a single nip or face turn like they were thinking about biting. 

They got a rinse in the vet's sink and got checked over. The vet was literally one of the most gentle/firm people with strong, kind hands. Didn't hurt them, all touches were gentle and careful, and wasn't shaky about holding the growly dogs without gloves. 

Looks like an injury that bled out a little too much, not uncommon for strays since they didn't take the time to rest after. There were a couple deep scratches that were likely causes, nothing too serious. Nothing looked infected, nicely enough. 

The vet suggested getting a supplement to add to their food that was for overall bitty care, they didn't sell it at the office, but they did have the names of a couple brands they had had really good results with over the years. 

All you could do with them is make sure they ate regularly and rested up.

So you gathered them up, and took them home. 

You made some oatmeal since that'd be pretty bland in case anyone was going to get sick with something else. And everyone could have the same thing so there wouldn't be any jealousy. 

The two growly ones needed a little bit of help eating, kinda like Puppy had been after being attacked by Harris hawks. 

Everyone got a rinse in the kitchen sink, if not a straight up bath since the majority weren't the cleanest. 

Took about two weeks for the unhappy pair to stop growling and crying at all hours. They weren't a fan of being carried around in a basket and looked after constantly. Weren't a fan of the blanket you put over the basket to let them have a hidey-hole and not be watched, cause then they couldn't see everything. 

You ended up getting some apple flavored Critical Care and some clean syringes (without needles) after the first day of Red and Edge having trouble eating, and that really seemed to help a lot to get them back on their feet and to get them to eat regularly. 

From what the vet had seen, it didn't look like they'd been abused or hit, just one of those scratches that didn't get cared for and kept reopening on the street.

 

________________________________________________________

 

Having hairless dogs still had you vacuuming and sweeping up the house a whole lot more than you had before you'd gotten them. You finally gave in to the potential of doing less vacuuming since the dogs weren't about to stop tracking in dirt, and you bought a roomba. 

It had to fully charge before you turned it on. 

Didn't figure a roomba would do much or give anyone too bad a scare. The dogs knew what a vacuum was, and this was much more quiet. 

You weren't expecting to watch Blue and Prince try and play king of the hill, and jump on to push the other off. It didn't last long. The winners turned out to be Stretch, who curled up on top of it and went to sleep while it rolled around. Neither was willing to do more than complain and yell at him, and then come and complain to you about it. 

 

________________________________________________________

 

Gaster was almost the size of a small adult husky. He was almost twenty pounds of dog, and pinged the mind as a 'weird horse'. Really was an older bitty, nearing thirty. 

Gaster's owner was a distant relative but fairly close friend of the people who invented bitties. So he was not only a custom job, but he was also guaranteed not to be replicated for personal reasons. A gift that'd never be reproduced or mass produced for profit. 

So the unexpected pregnancy and the huge litter had been quite a shock. There'd been some studies done, not much had come from it. 

Three huskies and nine bitties had been too much for them. They just didn't have the time to take care of that many pets. 

Pretty exciting to have everyone back together. 

The bitties were going to be turning eight this summer. Pretty small compared to their known parent, the unknown parent was never guessed at.

_____________________________________________________________

 

Eight dogs was a whole lot of dogs, but they were good dogs, and loved you and got on well. 

It'd work out.

  



End file.
